after rehearsal on wednesday, i decided it was time again to change strings. it's been a while.

this afternoon i decided to see if i still had any gerlitz guitar honey. it was magical stuff whenever i used it on the rosewood fretboard on my late hecho en mexico jazz. and i still had some.

the ritual goes thusly:

• apply blue masking tape (painter's low-tack) to pickups in order to prevent steel wool pieces from sticking to them forever.
• apply #0000 steel wool with the grain of the fretboard.
  (the additional benefit of this is it polishes the frets quite nicely.)
• apply guitar honey to a cloth and wipe onto the fretboard. (wipe off the excess and let it sit.)
• apply more masking tape to prevent any excess steel wool pieces from falling onto the pickups anyway.
• put new strings on the bass and rock out.

the grain comes out better on the fingerboard, and it feels really nice. i forgot how much better a well-oiled and hydrated fingerboard feels compared to a parched, grabby one.



as a side note, i found that my local la bella dealer does not stock hard rockin' steel strings. why? because the distributor doesn't even list them. odd. i know la bella is not an especially common string choice, but if you're going to deal them, why not list or stock their roundwound stainless steel offering?

harumph.

robb.

I didn't do all that, but I did put some new HiBeams on my bass and it's a treat to play and hear. Who needs a new/different bass - new strings for everyone!

I use THIS. I don't polish my intruments often, but I use the "01" fretboard cleaner/prep and "02" deep conditioner every time I change my strings. Very nice feeling.

Is this the bass player's version of metrosexual behaviour?

I use this

Always seems to work fine.

Yep, lemon oil is what I use.

I use that set because it was a gift years ago and I haven't run out of anything yet despite the small bottle sizes. I don't like my instrument and hands smelling like a produce counter. Next you're going to tell me you wax the body with fish pills.

Well, Hell. I guess since it's supposed to be 99 degrees F today, I'll stay in and give the axes a good once-over and put a drop of 3-in-1 into the threaded fasteners on the bridge and machine heads.

You're a drop of 3-in-1.

Thanks for the tip.
My usual maintenance for fingerboards is I use a scotchbrite sponge and a little denatured alcohol to clean the board then apply a little boiled linseed oil. It works pretty well for me. I have unfinished fingerboards and I don't recommend it with a finished maple fingerboard.
A side note I've gone and put XL Chromes flatwounds on my Warwick Thumb bass. Kind of interesting tone. Still getting used to them.

AH-HAH-HAH-HAH!

Oh yeah, b5pilot reminded me...the stuff I use isn't for maple boards. All 3 of mine are rosewood.

boiled linseed oil is, like lemon oil, a pretty common choice for fingerboard maintenance. i kind of assume there is both in the stuff i have.

i am a little concerned about how coarse a scotchbrite sponge would be. i've used one on my kitchen sink, and i would prefer something finer for my bass.

also, you must have some pretty grimy fingers if you need denatured alcohol. either that, or i'm just a lot more conservative with my cleaning that you are.



yes, that's rule number one. if the fingerboard is finished, you probably only need windex to keep it clean. and oiling it would just make it messy, not happy.

robb.

What I have used with great success is an auto product called "Nevr Dulll". It is treated cotton wading and it comes in a silver can. It cleans frets wonderfully without all the problems of steel wool. I also clean the Rosewood fretboards to remove the greese and body oils. I then buff really well with paper towels to remove all solvents. I then apply oil, tung oil if I want a dull finish or Tru-Oil if I want a glossy finish. Again I buff with paper towels really well. The Never Dull is also excellant for polishing chrome bridges and tuners.
Rocky

A scotchbrite pad isn't too bad and I rub with the grain. I used to use steel wool but it leaves so many bits. If there's too much gunk around the frets I will use an old toothbrush. The denatured alcohol is a good grease cutter and leaves very little residue. also it dries quick. You don't need to use much of it and apply it to the sponge or a cloth first.
No my hands aren't that grimy. It's that I do tend to sweat a bit especially in the summer and dirt, sweat salts and oils eventually get built up. Also with the Warwick having brass frets they tend to tarnish kind of quickly.
I wouldn't use windex or any window cleaner that contains amonia as that may hurt the finish on a maple neck. A good furniature cleaner that contains no wax I think would be better.

i had forgotten about the brass frets on warwicks. that does change things a bit. and i hadn't ever considered the effects of using windex on a finished neck. i don't know how long it's been since i've done that on my beginner's P copy.

robb.

I use Nevr Dull all the time on my truck rims, and it can take off some nasty s**t. It works great on brass too, but I've never touched my guitar with it. Hmmmm...